1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a health mask, and more particularly to, a health mask that contains air-blocking material that blocks and directs breathing air along a defined passage. As cold air is inhaled in, a supporting cloth preserves respiration heat and humidity, produced at a prior time of breathing outwardly. This reduces the influx of cold air to the nose and maximizes inhalation of humid air into the nose. This also minimizes inhalation of dry and cold air from the outside, which exerts negative influence on cold symptoms. The present invention also pertains to an improved health mask that helps reduce production of frost on a user""s eyeglasses at the time of exhalation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a health mask is used by a patient who is afflicted with illness related to a respiratory organ such as coughing or a cold and who wishes to avoid direct contact with cold and dry outside air at the time of inhalation.
As illustrated by FIG. 1, this mask (10) typically includes a rectangular body (11), made of cloth material and of a size that can simultaneously cover a user""s nose and mouth. An attachment or hanging string (13), attached on both left and right sides of body (11) can be hung upon a user""s ears. FIG. 1 also reveals a typical needlework line that ensures the overlapping of an outer and inner cloth.
On the other hand, a patient with a cold may mitigate cold symptoms best when humid air is continuously inhaled instead of cold and dry outside air. When a patient with a cold applies and uses the prior general mask (10), the function of a mask is not optimized since inhalation of cold and dry air from the outside by the user can occur through an influx passage which forms between the left and right side of the user""s face and the nose ridge that faces and comes into contact with the inner surface of body (11) at the time of inhalation.
In case of a user who wears eyeglasses, the user may further be inconvenienced with an unclear view due to the creation of frost on the surface of the eyeglasses due to hot moist breathing air also being discharged into the influx passage (i.e., the empty space situated between the nose ridge and left and right side of the face) at the time of exhalation.
It is desired for body (11) to retain relative humidity from the exhalation air being discharged to the outside so that dry air from the outside may be humidified as it is inhaled by the user as it passes through the cloth material of body (11). However there is a limit to the amount of humidity body (11) can maintain at a consistent level since respiration heat such as exhalation air (i.e., air from the nose and/or mouth of the user) is distributed to the entire body (11) and then discharged to the outside.
The present invention pertians to an improved health mask. The exemplary health mask includes a body (2) large enough to cover both the nose and mouth of a user. It is made of cloth material and includes an attachment hanging string (3) for the ears attached at the right and left side of body (2). A supporting cloth (4) is attached onto the inner surface of body (2) that corresponds to the nose and mouth, and air-blocking material (5) is fixed in the symmetrical arrangement of a pair of left and right inverted L-structures located between inner and outer cloths (4a) (4b) of the supporting cloth (4). This forms a more concentrated passage that fills up the otherwise empty space found between the left and right side of the nose where exhalation air is concentrated at the inner surface of body (2). Air-blocking material (5) blocks and curtails the influx of cold air into the respiratory organs. The supporting cloth (4) helps preserve respiration heat and humidity that are discharged from the user at the time of breathing. This helps maximize inhalation of humid air into the user""s respiratory organs during inhalation while also minimizing inhalation of untreated dry air from the outside which would aggravate cold symptoms. This also helps reduce creation of frost on the user""s eyeglasses at the time of exhalation.